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Little Bear Company
Little Bear Company, also known as the Nicaragua Expedition or the Freebooters, was a group of post-War filibusters originating from the Core Region, more specifically the New California Republic. History The history of Little Bear Company only goes back to 2276 but its true origins lie in 2261 with the beginning of the Great Nicaraguan Cattle Drive. Word of a growing nation in need of a steady food supply attracted people as disparate as Texas, Tamaulipas, and Baja California. The cattle drive took three years but succeeded in the end. The men who went on the cattle drive returned home and told their friends of Nicaragua, a beacon of hope in the wastelands of Latin America. The cowboys who returned to Baja California talked of Nicaragua, and the word went north to the New California Republic through NCR Rangers in Baja. Some in the NCR had already heard of Nicaragua from the initial reports of the cattle drive but word of the drive's success hammered home that Nicaragua was a rising power. These stories of Nicaragua piqued the interest of two very different people in different parts of New California: Will Quaid and Norman Unz. Will Quaid was the son of a prominent brahmin baron and a well known playboy in the Boneyard. Later in life however, be became an avid reader of Malachi Dip, the founder of Renewalism and became a hardcore Renewalist, leaving his life alcoholism and debauchery behind to help manage his father's business. He considered moving to a Renewalist commune on the outskirts of the NCR but decided against it. Quaid's potential was worth so much more in his eyes, specifically funding a Renewalist expedition to Nicaragua to establish a Renewalist state. The idea was suggested to Quaid by a close friend and after some consideration, he took the idea to heart and made preparations and plans. Quaid approached many people in the NCR military for assistance as well as mercenaries. Almost no one thought a trip that far south was plausible. Norman Unz was an older NCR war veteran who had fought in the wars with the Enclave and the Brotherhood of Steel and had turned to mercenary work after retiring to pay the bills. Hearing about Nicaragua in 2276, Unz was fascinated by the country and wished to visit there at least one time before he died. Therefore, he was very surprised when approached by Quaid to come on his Nicaragua Expedition. Organization A loosely organized company of mercenaries and misfits, Little Bear Company had no official command structure beyond the squad level. It was always understood though that Will Quaid was the overall leader, and Norman Unz and Jules were his lieutenants. Beyond that, everyone else was of roughly equal rank. Weaponry/Technology Tactics/Interactions Althoug they had superior weapons and military experience, Little Bear Company had small numbers and could hardly hold its own on an open battlefield. So, the Company mostly used defensive or covert methods such as ambushes and false retreats. Also, Norman Uns was a big fan of divide and conquer, and he, with the help of Will Quaid, trained many Nicaraguans to fight for them. Culture Little Bear Company operated as single entity that fought for Renewalism and a new nation under Will Quaid but had many diverse cultural backgrounds. By the end of the Company, it fell under two distinct umbrellas. These umbrella terms were not used when Little Bear Company was still active but was made afterwards. The first group, the Idealists, was mostly made up of Renewalists from the NCR, converted Followers of the Apocalypse, and local translators. Directly headed by Will Quaid, the Idealists were the ideological core of the Company, firmly believing in the benefits of Renewalism in Nicaragua and mostly focusing on non-combat issues such as politics, diplomacy, and medicine. The second group was known as the Pragmatists, made up of NCR vets and mercs. The Pragmatists, de-facto led by Norman Unz, focused more on military issues and establishing Nicaragua as a strong NCR ally. Due to their harsh violent bent, the Pragmatists were less liked in Nicaragua than the Idealists, not for bad reasons. The two groups tried to cooperate in taking over Nicaragua but ultimately, both of them failed, if more spectacularly for the Pragmatists. Notable Individuals Will Quaid Norman Unz Jules Mitchell Larston Born in The Hub, Mitchell became a believer in the Renewalist movement at an early age, always having found the ruins distateful somehow. He would hear about the Nicaraguan Expedition from another Renewalist and originally signed on as a teamster. As they traveled farther from the NCR however Mitchell was forced to fight with the rest of the group, which would be formative experience for the young man. He would eventually be the second-in-command of a local militia as the Freebooter government collapsed. He and his militia would turn bandit for a time, robbing merchants and those who carried pre-War items. The restored government would eventually find the group, and Mitchell was one of the few to survive the subsequent attack. He would hide in the jungles for a week before returning the capital, determined to make one last statement. He assembled a crude bomb vest and filled his jacked with bits of metal to act as shrapnel. Intending to detonate the device in parliament, Mitchell would be stabbed and robbed three blocks from the building, and would bleed to death in an alleyway. 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